Since time's first once there have been those who serve the Dark magics — witches, giants, and imps — and those who serve the Light — princesses, faeries, and all the special children. At first, there were years of clashing, with losses on both sides, and no end in sight; these were the years of legends: Snow White, Jack of the Beanstalk, and all the names that would become known across the lands. But it became so that the Great Princesses convened and knew that a stop had to be orchestrated to allow the land to truly heal.

A truce was made.

Factions were devised — one of Dark and one of Light — that would police each other, making sure that balance was maintained, and neither ever attempted to usurp the other. Because, without balance, magic could only become Chaos. To broker this treaty, the purveyors of Light and Dark went to two human males to represent neutrality. These Grimm brothers would write down all the cautionary tales of the First Years and settle disputes between the two sides.

As time went on, the treaty held. The sides worked in tense harmony. Things were of peace. So much of peace that humanity began to forget what it was like when wolves ran rampant and princes used the swords they carried. They forgot their caution, and their magic, beginning to take the calm for granted. Age began to find the Great ones as magic weakened, and many succumbed, disappearing.

Humans began to gain power as magic dwindled, no longer the threat it had been over their mortal heads. Technology took the place of wonder. Time went on and on.

And, in each age, the fable greats were reincarnated, acting out their good or nefarious deeds under other names: Queen Elizabeth, Rasputin, Columbus… Legends speckled throughout history, able to use their knowledge of the time before for good — or evil — always making sure to keep the other one in check.

But a dark era fell. There were no more Greats. No more reincarnations. Magic disappeared. There was War. The storytellers who were meant to only record history became creators of fiction.

And so it was until 2235, when a little magic made its way back into the world.